


Storytime

by thereasonyoucry



Series: Skeletons and a Nanny [2]
Category: Undertale
Genre: Backstory, Gaster - Freeform, Mages, Magic, Multi, Other, anyonewannatahforme?, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-04-23 14:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19153306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thereasonyoucry/pseuds/thereasonyoucry
Summary: Tori tells Frisk about her History, Mage history, and thus, Frisks’.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo~ it came out sooner than I thought, thank slow workdays and a convienient computer~

I’m not going to lie to you. This isn’t a pleasant tale. It has its moments, but it is a sad, harsh story. As it is when you learn the truth of the world. Remember in grade-school, when thanksgiving was about Natives and Pilgrims getting along? Then you learn one day, that the truth is far more horrible, and nothing to be celebrated? This is quite similar, do you think you’ll be able to handle it? 

 

...

 

I thought you might say that. You’re so determined. Very well. 

 

I was small when they found me. I don’t remember what age, but i couldn’t have been more than 5. I lived in a small village high in the mountains, the air was so cold, it could turn your fingers blue in ten minutes. I suppose that’s why it took so long. Every mage that our sisters found were barely crawling when they found the family. But ohh, I was walking. I was talking even. 

 

I had the whole village at my feet. 

 

I don’t remember much, but from what I'm told, when the sisters first laid eyes on me, I was clothed in the finest furs, far from cold, with grown men rough as bears from the harsh climate, at my beck and call as if they were common serfs. Haha!! I was horrendous. That’s what happens when a power as dangerous as mine was left unchecked. 

 

As it was, they were the first of my sisters sent for me, but not the last. I’m not proud to admit this, but as a small child, it can seem scary, terrifying even. Two robed figures, beautiful as the devils from ancient myths sent to steal your soul. Nothing like the weather-stained faces and broken bodies I was used to. Speaking softly, in a broken accent, telling me they were going to take me away. They were going to give me the world, teach me, give me family, warm weather and sweet fruits. 

 

Their words were tempting, but from the day I was born, I had been raised on tales of beings of darkness, who steal children away with sweet promises, only to rip them open for a snack on the cold mountainside…. Let’s just say, they spent the rest of their lives on that mountainside. I kept the strongest, angriest men near me, for a reason. 

 

I don’t believe i was inherently cruel. I was raised with plenty of love, those who would have otherwise treated me with disdain or as a burden, instead exalted me as if I was a goddess. I was a child, and I was selfish and dumb. 

 

It took 14 sisters for our Mother to finally get involved. They came in pairs, 7 failures is all that is allotted to any task, you see. When Mother finally arrived, it was with a monster in tow. 

 

It wasn’t obvious at first. He was clothed in a dark robe, drawn around him with a large hood. But I do remember how he had no furs, no extra cloth to keep him from the cold. His boots were the soft thin hide, not thick, fur lined, carved wood as ours were. Mother interested me. She was, like me, clothed in only fine furs, light mink and rabbit, with soft down feathers insulating her beautiful face. It matched her pristine white hair, and it almost seemed to shimmer. She always seems to shimmer. 

 

She spoke harshly, a stark contrast to her looks, but a comforting sound to me. She didn't talk of taking me away. She spoke of showing me something. Of giving me a single gift. She cooed about how strong I was, how sturdy my village. How well I had led everyone to coexistence under myself as their radiant sun. My ego bloomed, and she knew how to take control of that. 

 

“Although, I will say, I could teach you a thing or two. I doubt even your strong village could best one of my true fighters.” Her voice was rough and issued a challenge. 

 

“Mine have torn down every one of your grunts, despite your demonic tricks.” 

 

“Demonic? No, young leader, it was magic. The same magic that pumps through your veins. Do you not see? They were only messengers. Teachers to show you how to create fantastic things. DO fantastic things. You are strong here, child, but join with us, become my daughter and join your sisters in a village that could run this over thousandfold.” Her Voice had risen, but she slipped into the soft accent that those who came before her had sported. Somehow, it seemed more sinister than the barks of my homeland. 

 

“I would much prefer if you came, willingly. I will forgive my daughters which you have slaughtered, and i will take you as my own.”

 

I knew the threat. I also knew that in that moment, I had no choice. My village would die, and so would my people. But I was a child, and I did not want to die. I was enthralled by the Mother’s words, and knowing they would die anyway, I decided to test on the woman's earlier claim. 

 

“I will go.” I barked, “If you make true on your promise. Tell me, this figure you have brought with you, is he a soldier. Not a messenger?” 

 

“He is.” She purred. 

 

“If he can best my warriors, then I will have no choice. But they will fight for me, and their souls will be safe from your demonic treachery if you kill them.”  It was not a question, nor a request. That was the thing, Mother always knew when to back down. No one ever bested her. She could have obliterated the mountainside on a whim. But she fed into my childish ego and agreed. 

 

It was a slaughter.

 

The hooded figure raised a hand…. If I had thought they were demons before, I was sure now. There was no meat on the hand, no blood, no sinew. It was skeletal, the bones moving supplemented ligaments with bits of bone that were slightly off from true mammal. I knew what bones looked like, I knew what a skeleton was supposed to look like, but this was different. 

 

I didn't have long to process, however, as the figure summoned a monstrous skull, If I had guessed at the time, I would say it to be a bear, but I akin it more now to a dragon. It ripped itself out of thin air, as if out of nothingness itself, and even as my men charged, even as women and other children scattered, it demolished everything in its path with a terrifying blast of energy. The few villagers that managed to get away, were scooped up by skeletal hands that seemed to materialize from nowhere, tossing them into the demonic beings waiting maw. 

 

The whole thing lasted about ten minutes, but those ten minutes burned into my brain the one thing I had never learned. I was weak, my powers were weak and I had no true protection from the harsh world. I wanted in that moment, all the power that this strange hooded being had. 

 

I walked through charred, destroyed bodies, my light furs stained with splatters of gore. I approached the pair with wide eyes, full of awe and admiration. Mother smiled, and her thin lips spread into the most beautiful smile of acceptance I had seen. She gestured to herself, then the hooded figure beside her.

 

“I am Evangelinia, but you may call me Mother, or Mistress.” She nodded her head lightly at the hooded figure, and he lowered it slowly. 

 

It was a skeleton….

 

But not quite. Like his hand, his appearance was inherently skeletal, but not quite, bone seemed to fill in gaps that would otherwise make movement impossible, amd a deep purple light burned behind empty sockets. His neck bones were thick, I remember, but all in all he was a tall, thin being. He had a deep crack in his skull, running from one eye to the top of his skull, and another down his cheek on the other side. It was my first run in with a skeleton monster. They’re so very rare now. I think Sans and Papaya are the first i’ve seen in a few hundred years…..

 

But we’ll get to that. 

 

I didn’t know what to say to this figure, but he smelled like mint, and it made me less afraid of him. I was hesitant, however, so he bent down to me. In a voice that rang through my head, accompanied by strange symbols i’d soon learn the meaning for, he told me his name. 

 

“Hello, my dear girl, I am Windings Gaster. Would you like me to teach you?”


	2. Time to learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is getting a lol spicy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo instead of 3 chapters it's moving into 4. Just hold your suspension of disbelief that this is supposed to be a 'bedtime story'. 
> 
> All my love~

We stepped out of my world, a world of cold, corpses and chaos, into more colour than I had ever experienced in my life.

 

I had seen flowers growing on the harsh mountainside a few times. Their colours were always muted and frosty, from the winds and ice. The first thing I remember is the bright vivid greens, the clear blue of the sky shimmering above us.

 

We had emerged at the top of a large hill overlooking a large village. Half of the network of wooden buildings had started crawling across the water, large pillars keeping impressively built monuments above the surf. The place was easily three times the size of my old village, and it took some time for my young mind to grasp the gravity of the scene.

 

That view is burned into my memory. I sat there for hours. Wondering how I never knew something like this existed. Cursing my short, secluded life. My young mind looked at the two figures waiting so very patiently for me. I vowed my life to those beings. To me, they were my saviors.

 

Here is where i must warn you, it’s going to be a little…. Harsh… ahead. I will try not to go into detail.

 

…

 

What?

 

...

 

No, I haven't seen Saw VI.

 

...

 

You really want the gory version, Frisk i’m not joking with you. It’s not something a child your age should be fully exposed to.

 

…

 

I mean…. You’re not wrong….

 

…

 

Alright alright, if I don't continue, we’ll run out of night.

 

Now, where was I? Right, Just got there.

 

The village, though it was more like a town…. The base that Mother oversees has gone through many name changes. Now, we just call it home. It’s modernized, with the times, but it still stands there… creeping its way over and into that sparkling lake.

 

I learned the most valuable lesson there, Frisk. I learned discipline.

 

Hah… you think i’m hard on you? I will put things in perspective. You know the breathing exercises I have you do? 15 minutes before every lesson?

 

I was older than the other mages. Less disciplined. I sat in class with those half my age, learning to BREATHE. Imagine, a girl not two days prior commanding her own village, being told to sit still and do nothing but BREATHE and THINK for 2 hours. Every. Morning. Then would come the chores. I was belligerent.

 

Hadn’t mother told me I was powerful?  Special? A leader? Why was I reduced to doing slave work? I lasted 3 days. I did not last them well. My tasks were foregn to me, basic cleanliness was a chore. I had lived where showers meant you’d be a frozen block by sundown. Now I was expected to be washed, dressed, clean. That alone was a chore I suspected no sister would have been able to master. Fortunately, before I could get too smelly, I made an egregious error.

 

Frustrated with one of the sisters set to attend me, I reached out. Even with the few lessons I had taken, my understanding of what I could do had amplified. It was over something so silly as a bath…. I would kill for a good bath now. Haha.

 

I reached out and, assuming it would be difficult, blasted my poor sisters mind with my magic.

 

It was bright yellow then, like a blinding flash of sun. I had only wanted her to forget that I needed to wash… that was it. I didn’t know… and I was so very young.

 

I didn’t know that the poor woman’s green SOUL was a whisp compared to a shining SOUL of justice…. But I didn’t know. How could I have?

 

She was reduced to a blubbering mess on the floor. I had taken…. everything. I had blasted away every memory she ever made from birth, reducing her to a shrieking, crying, adult with the cognitive abilities of a goddamn infant. Worse, as her ability to learn and form those new lasting memories were impaired by her age….

 

I…

 

I didn’t mean to….

 

I didn’t know.

 

I was found trying to smother her. To cover up my shame. I… I was crying, and screaming. I don’t remember much about that myself, but I was told later, that Mother had to be summoned. She sent away many of my sisters, leaving only a few.

 

I do remember mothers arms wrapping around me and carrying me away from the broken woman. I sobbed apologies, screamed that I didn’t know. I didn’t know what she would do to me. She was stoic the entire time, no cops or assurances.

 

We went down, I remember descending stairs for so long I had stopped crying. I was, however, a trembling mess when mother set me down.

 

She was silent for a long time.

 

“My child, what you have done, is unforgivable in the eyes of those who have already seen. We have a rule that we hold above all else.” Her eyes bore into me. I still sometimes see that stare when I do something wrong. “You were told that rule, yes?”

 

“.....yes”

 

She waited.

 

“N...never use your powers against another sister, unless you have been assigned to do so by the elders…..”

 

“I should kill you. Sisters are calling for your death, it is the just penalty. You sentenced that woman to a fate worse than death! And why?”

 

“I didn’t wanna—“

 

“YOU DID NOT WANT TO BATHE”

 

Her voice could have stopped my heart. I felt weak, as she approached. I trembled, but for the life of me, I did not flinch away.

 

Her hand reached out, and I felt the sharp tips of her nails drag softly down my cheek.

 

“You will be punished, but not death. You are important to me, I expect greatness from you. Provide that assurance for me, and I will give you all I promised.”

 

I nodded, I could cry. The sisters hated me, but Mother knew, mother understood.

 

I took my punishment. It was horrifying and I learned to not do that ever again.

 

…

 

What?

 

…

 

You really want me to recount my childhood trauma?

 

…

 

Sigh. For learning.

 

Mother positioned me in the center of the room. I was to stand with my arms and legs extended, head back and mouth open.

 

No not like that. It wasn’t like that. I wouldn’t tell you even if it was.

 

The relief I felt was replaced with apprehension as Mother spoke.

 

“You will receive punishment, and you will thank me for the lesson.”

 

As she was talking, a dark red thread of magic ran from the tips of each of her fingertips. They reached out for me, and they burned like fire.

 

They touched my chest first, right above my SOUL, before sliding across my body, slicing intricate patterns down my arms and legs. The sensation was agony, but when I tried to cry out, one of the thin tendrils shot down my throat. I could feel a searing pain deep in my chest, however the tendril was sure not to graze either my face or lips.

 

I still have the mark on my throat, and my arms and legs. See?

 

After the last tendril of magic was done carving out my insides, they all retreated, leaving bleeding, throbbing wounds across my body. Every movement was agony, and I was unable to speak for pain when I opened my mouth.

 

But Mother was waiting.

 

“Thank...you…” I croaked, ripping pain through my throat and sending a fresh wave of blood to be swallowed.

 

Mother smiled.

 

“Now my child, don’t forget your lesson.”

 

What?

 

…

 

No, don’t look at me like that. Things were very different then. I promise.

 

It’s not nearly as harsh now. They handle things differently. You’ll see, you’ll see. It was a good lesson. Can’t have kids running around blasting people’s minds out all the time.

 

…

 

Yeah I know I already kinda do but I’m working on it. Every good teacher should be willing to learn.

 

Besides, since that incident, I was treated with high favor from Mother, although it was usually in small secluded areas, or around few of my sisters.

 

Now, I had been in this strange new place about a few months. I had been fussed and fawned over by many sisters, one whom bestowed on me the gift of their speech, although my accent is still terrible. I learned the hierarchy and studied hard. Not once did I think to use my gift, and the teachers were harsh. They beat me for my accent, they groaned in frustration when I was wrong, even harder when I corrected them in lessons. I worked hard, and I couldn’t understand why these teachers did not like when I gobbled up every bit of information they gave me.

 

All the sisters I lived with, or worked with outside adored me. And I adored them. Life was so much quieter, so soft and sweet here. Why did these sisters hate me? I had advanced up to and past my age with ease.

 

Anyway, as I was running some small errand, I believe I was delivering some fruit…

 

I saw a glimpse of the monster who destroyed my village.

 

Wingdings Gaster. He was walking with Mother, surrounded by a small troop of monsters and mages. I had never really seen monsters before, not unless in the pages of the books I studied in my classes with the smaller babes. I was awestruck, and failed to bow my head to the ground, as was customary when an elder passes you by, but of course mother only beckoned me in. My sisters glared and whispered, as this was the first blatant display of favoritism shown me. I made many enemies that day.

 

...

 

Don’t look at me like that, i’ve barely begun. I have no true enemies now, settle back down.

 

There, need some water?

 

...

 

Okay.

 

I walked with Mother, the monsters around us paying no mind. I did not even warrant a glance from the skeleton who had taken me. I was upset, he had promised to teach me. I was learning, with no help from the tall skeleton man who smelled of crisp comfort.

 

I did not know where they were going, and the information wasn’t given to me. We ended up traveling to the edge of the lake, where the skeleton dismissed the monsters, and Mother the mages. I turned to leave as well, I wasn't one to try my chances with Mother anytime soon after that incident. I would still occasionally open a scab in a sensitive spot.

 

“Dear child, please allow me the company. I dear I am far behind on a promise.” The smooth velvety voice made all my apprehensions disappear. I felt relaxed, and I didn't notice Mothers eyes trained on me so intently as I turned and skipped toward the thing I didn't know I had been craving.

 

His eyelights danced when they landed on me, and I'm sure my eyes responded in kind. I felt immediately safe and protected. I trusted this man.

 

I trusted him for far too long.

 

His lab was out on the water, I learned that all the monsters lived in the suspended homes over the lake. To keep our monster friends and allies close and safe.

 

There weren't many of them.

 

He showed Mother projects he had been working on, often mixing his speech with a garbled language I wouldn't understand until I was much older.

 

“I have been meaning, dear Evangelinia, to inquire about our little treasure here.” He ruffled my hair as he said this, and I was thrilled. He had thought about me!

 

“Yes, well the girl is very talented, but she needed to learn quite a bit. She was not up to standard until now. But she has excelled faster than I had presumed.”

 

“Would you allow me to take over her studies? If she is to assist in my endeavors, a more focused education would be beneficial. It would also allow me to look over any abrupt changes…”

 

“I understand. I could not dismissed her to you indefinitely, however. I have plans should you fail. And for that, she cannot be ostracized.”

 

“I wouldn't plan on such an atrocity. I simply wish to replace her studies.”

 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing! All my crabby teachers gone, replaced by this paradigm… It was as if I was given the best gift.

 

But at what cost?


	3. Bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk gets a small taste of Mother’s love.  
> Tori gets a Taste of Gasters

“Determination….”

Gaster’s sultry voice rang through my held as he held up the small glass container full of a deep red liquid. The essence of determination, extracted and refined into a workable material. 

 

I was entranced. I had been studying under the monster for several years now, I was 13 at the time. We had gone over some of his determination theories, but he hadn’t often let me see the actual work. 

 

My time had flown by, since that fateful day I was taken under his care. It wasn’t completely, I still slept with my sisters, woke with them. I was years ahead in my magic control and research than my peers, however, so I often sat with the older sisters. I had developed a sort of name for myself over the years. 

 

I can't sit here and pretend like it was all fun and games. I threw myself into my work, learning all that I could about this matriarchal society and it’s odd bond with the monsters. I wanted to impress the monster who had taken me as an apprentice. 

 

He was never cruel, but he wasn’t quite nice either. He would bark orders in a strange language at all his other assistants. When he spoke to me, however, there was a warmth that could be felt. In his tone, in his gaze. When i was wrong, I was punished harshly…. And when I was correct, I was praised lavishly. 

 

When I was younger, I felt safe and secure working with him, but as I grew up I came to admire the way he worked. He was methodical, approaching every problem with a scientific air. He was dastardly smart, though he rarely bragged, and worked closely with Mother in whatever they had been working on. I didn't care until I was a bit older. 

 

Admiration soon turned into infatuation. My sisters were harrassed constantly by tales of how amazing and enchanting I found this being. Though, I was much too young for it to be anything more than a girlish crush. My sisters responded by pushing cute monsters at me, anything but skeletons. They thought it was creepy.

 

I thought they were rude. 

 

Anyway, I am getting off the subject again. 

 

Gaster showed me the determination he had extracted, though he tactfully avoided telling me where from, and my starry eyes had no reason to think about it. 

 

“Determination has been proven to allow humans to do things before considered unimaginable. Mages with a Determination SOUL are said to be the most powerful. It has taken me 124 years to extract and stabilize even this amount, given the means available to me now.” 

 

He always spoke like that. As if he knew what the world had to promise. I believed him omnipotent, for a time. That is, until I got away with hiding a particularly delicate set of glass figures he had in his lab set up temptingly in the corner. 

 

My hands aren't really made for delicate work like that. I call em my farmers hands. 

 

He never found out it was me, and he never will….

 

Anyway, he went on for awhile, about how painstakingly long the process was to refine it into such a state. I was hooked, I personally have never been good at solidifying magic. If it really even has a state to begin with. I hung on his every word, and when his lecture finished, he turned his attention to me. My SOUL had taken to fluttering around like a trapped moth whenever his gaze met mine. And now it was held. 

 

“You have worked so hard, little dove. You have learned so much, your bright mind is barely encompassed by your brighter SOUL.” My breath had stopped, but Gaster wasn't looking at me anymore. He was looking through me, at something far away.  Lost in his own mind. I wanted nothing more than to reach out, probe that mysterious mind and look into what was causing that far off gaze. 

 

Was he thinking of me? Was he thinking of Mother? Did he think I wouldn't reciprocate feelings because I was still so young? Did he care? Did I care if he cared? All those awful and exciting things that young girls think when they have a crush on an older peer. 

 

Don't look at me like that. Alphy’s has shown me your fan-fic’s.

 

Yeah, i should be looking at YOU like that.

  
  


Like I said, it’s normal. Weird and creepy and kinda gross, but normal. 

 

All at once my thoughts came crashing down around me. 

 

“Your Mother will be choosing a monster for you to bond with soon. When the first signs of your body's fertility appear. You have such a strong SOUL… And such a unique power.” His velvety voice was a stark contrast to the horror his words held. 

 

A Bond? With a monster. I had noticed that the sisters had always swayed my flirtations to our magical allies.   I had believed it was more a stab at intermingling in general, than a predispositioned occurrence. But to suggest that it was a PLAN. I knew Mother. Over the years, I had been more than akin to a few of her plans. They never failed, at least, if they did, Mother had taken to bringing me along. To clean up the evidence, so to speak. 

 

Who would clean up the evidence if this plan failed? 

 

I was no stranger to the concept of a SOUL bond. It was an honor to be given a bond, as most had to wait for the process to occur naturally. But, due to the state of Mothers power, she had the ability to connect two souls on a whim. It wasn’t often that a sister was given a bond to a monster. It hung in my mind that he had specified. Monster.

 

In the time I wasn’t with Gaster or attending my chores, I was with Mother. I had grown to become somewhat of a right hand to her, despite my age an inexperience. She had never once mentioned any plans to bond me. As far as I had been concerned, she felt me too valuable to share. I relished in that thought, that my soul would be tied to the family and the family alone. 

 

But that was apparently not in her plans….

  
  


“Dear Evangelinia wants to try and re-create that power.” Gaster continued, “But, my dear, I am selfish. I would rather like to have you here, working with me, than off acting as some incubator.” He scoffed. His words were harsh now, but my heart soared. He wanted… me. There to work with him. But me. He didn’t want me bonded to another. I clung to that thought desperately as my young mind struggled with the fact that even he couldn’t disobey Mother. Wouldn’t. 

 

Well, you’ll see this as a theme here, I was wrong. 

 

We didn’t talk about my bonding at all after that day, but something had changed. He had always treated me with more care than the others helping around his lab, but now that care was warm. When he brushed my arm, or put a hand on my shoulder to encourage me, I could feel a warm tingle running through my skin. 

 

It was three days before my 18th birthday when it happened. About 4 years after I had been warned. Much later than I had thought, later than any of my sisters. I like to think now that I willed it so hard, I managed to stave off fertility as long as I could. 

 

I woke up covered in blood. I wanted to scream, but the cooling liquid had woken me before my sisters. No one knew yet, and I was to be sure they wouldn’t.

 

I gathered up my bedcloth and washed in a quiet rush. I shoved the stained material in my bag, and followed a familiar trail through the village. It wasn’t often I was allowed to leave the village, a vast difference to my other sisters, who came and went as they pleased. I had grown used to finding ways out where no one would see, to run through the forest and feel a modicum of freedom. I never stayed out long, however. I had been pretty well trained to crave companionship, as unity was an important value in our life. 

 

I disposed of the offending bedding, tossing it in a river a mile or so away. I was shaking hard. Trying to figure out how i could hide this… something so MESSY. 

 

I ran straight to Gaster. I was as sneaky as I could be, without using my magic. I was seen by a few, but they simply waved and bid me a good morning. 

 

I didnt, and still dont, know if Gaster actually had a residence. The other monsters in the lab had separate houses, but he was always in the lab. 

 

He opened to my small knock almost immediately. 

 

“My dove… What is the matter? You’re not due till midday?” Gaster inquired. I hadn’t seen him ever look tired, but now he seemed EXHAUSTED. 

 

His eye lights were low, but flickering dangerously, his shirt askew, robe hanging off his shoulders and showing off a bit of clavicle that was usually covered. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I had come to plead for help, but I was speechless, distracted by the raw attraction I had for this man. 

 

There was a heat rolling off of him, and his minty scent seemed to consume my senses. When he cocked his head slightly to the side, encourging me to speak, my words fell out in a rush. 

 

“It happened. I hoped it never would but it happened. I tried to not… but now Mothers going to bond me. I’m going to lose you Wings! I don’t want to lose you!” I could feel the tears prickling my eyes. It was as close to a confession i had gotten, and in that moment I felt more vulnerable than I ever had.

 

He didn’t let me suffer long. His long arms reached for me and I melted into him as he held me close. He nuzzled my hair, and for one single moment, I could let myself forget, and be content there. In his arms. 

 

“Sweet girl, I have no reason to be so selfish, but I have to admit I cannot allow you to be bonded to another…” He trailed off, and pulled back to look at me. I could not meet his eyes, so he raised my gaze with a hand to my chin until I once again met his flickering eyelights. “I have waited so long, I was horrified you would be forced to bond before I could tell you.”

 

He pulled me into a kiss, and it was so passionate, i was left breathless and airy. I had dreamed about this for years, fantasized. I had wrestled with thinking it would never be, i had tried to forget his allure with bedmates and suitors, but he had never been far from my mind. 

 

I don’t know how long we shared sweet kisses and words, but eventually it was time to address the problem at hand. Gaster, however, had a plan.

 

He sat us down, criss cross and facing each other, with a flick of his thin wrist, his SOUL emerged from his chest. 

 

It was hauntingly beautiful A deep purple, darker cracks occasionally marring the surface. It was all of him, up tot hat point. It was his brilliant mind, his sweet words, his raw power. I didn’t know it at the time, but Gaster was a very high ranking skeleton, and his soul exuded that regal air. It was beautiful. Although, all SOULs look beautiful until you’ve seen an ugly one. 

 

He allowed me to gaze in awe awhile, before nodding to me. 

 

“My dear, will you show me your soul?” The words sent shivers through my nerves and goosebumps across my skin. It may not seem like much, but they were the most intimate words I had heard. I nodded mutely, and summoned forth my SOUL. 

 

I heard Gaster gasp, but my eyes were closed against the bright sun that emerged from my chest. 

 

“What happened to you, my love?” The words were soft and full of sadness, pity. It was not what I had expected, and my soul dimmed enough for me to open my eyes and search for the source of his displeasure. 

 

There, lacing the outer edge of my bright yellow SOUL, was the deep red design Mother had carved there years before. I hadn’t seen it before, I had no reason to pull out my SOUL, after all. 

 

He reached out towards my SOUL and I watched, anticipating the deep pleasure I had learned about in classes, but had yet to experience myself. 

 

His phalanges brushed the outer edge lightly….

 

And i felt nothing. Well, it was as if a small feather had brushed against my magic, but there was no mind-numbing sensation. I looked at Gaster questioningly. 

 

He wasn’t paying attention though, he had grabbed my soul with both hands, inspecting the marks. Still, it was just feather touches. 

 

I could feel my soul trying to reach out to the purple hear floating in front of it. I didnt have the nerve to touch Gasters soul, and he released mine as he leaned back, looking at me curiously. 

 

Then a small tendril of magic reached out from his soul. I watched it attempt to touch my soul, only to slide around it as if it were glass, even as my soul reached for him. An invisible barrier had been placed around my SOUL, and even as I could feel the radiating warmth of his magic around me, It didn’t touch.

 

Our eyes met, and I know we had a single thought.

 

Mother. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man. Oh man. I’m so excited for the next chapter you guys have no idea~
> 
> Thankyou for consuming my word-stew!


	4. Reality check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets a bit intense...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at rising chapter count* hehe, so remember what I said about suspension of disbelief, yeahhhh. We gonna have another chapter.

I was never much of a fighter. In spirit, yes. In actuality? No. I of course had learned to hunt and defend myself, but within the safety and security of my sisters brood, I rarely needed to use brute force. 

 

Gaster, however, used to be a soldier. 

 

I won’t go into his backstory, it’s rude to delve into someone’s secrets when they cannot explain it themselves. Just know that he was… one of the best. 

 

Most of the monsters that worked with mother as soldiers were skeletons. They have a natural magic that Mages cannot re-create. They can tap into a source called the Void. We’ve talked about it a bit, and quite frankly, it’s still too early to tell you much. But I will tell you that power from the void is strong, difficult to control, but those who do can turn mountains. 

 

Before me. There was only one Mage who could use void magic. Navi. The eldest one. Mother was said to be her third child. I never heard about the rest, I suppose they run clans of their own….

 

I’m sorry, I’m getting a little off topic, but this is all important information. 

 

It was told that Navi learned how to control the void by beating an ancient skeleton monster. A massive dragon of bones that birthed the skeleton monster race. I don’t know how true it is, as legends and myths get warped over time… 

 

But I know how I got it. And my heart goes out to the eldest of us if her way was anywhere near the same.

 

Gaster and I stayed holed up in the lab as long as we were able. He searched through books and scrolls, some in languages I had yet to see. He threw tomes off to the side, haphazardly considering the vials and jars full of questionable contents on the counters. 

 

When Mother came, it was with a smile. 

 

Her soldiers were all skeletons. They had to be. A blue light broke open the door easily, and they poured in. 

 

Gaster has moved to stand next to me with the blast, and two skeletal hands had formed, hovering above him, clawed and dangerous. 

 

The soldiers poured in, surrounding us in the smaller area, and Mother, of course, came in last. 

 

Her eyes were soft, and her smile sad as she looked at me. I was furious, but I couldn’t bring myself to glare. I simply stared with wide eyes at the woman who I had trusted my life to. I felt betrayed, but there was a nagging thought in the back of my mind that I pushed away. 

 

“My sweet, sweet child, what has that monster done to you?” She cooed, taking a step towards me, arms open for an embrace. I almost took it, until Gaster stepped in front of me. He towered over my short self, but Mother could almost look him in the eyelights.

 

“What have I done? Evangelinia, what have YOU done?” Gaster was furious. I had never heard anyone speak to Mother like that, none that stayed around long.

 

“My dear Wings, I have done nothing. My daughters SOUL is tied to our family. As it should be.” Her smile turned cruel. “You, however, have warped my poor girls mind. Toying with her emotions, trying to BOND without permission.”

 

Mother laughed at this, her thin white hand covering her mouth, and her eyes squinting with delight. 

 

“Tell me, Wings, how long have you been pining for my YOUNG daughter? You have been with her since she was small. When did you first feel the urge to bond? Was it when you saw that small child alone and surrounded by your kills? Did that fill you with DESIRE?” 

 

Gaster had froze with her words. He opened his jaw to speak, and clicked it shut again just as quickly. I had noticed his hands started to tremble.

 

“You think I couldn’t tell? Oh Wings truly you should know better. I could see the way you looked at her. You did a good job, staying away at first. But you couldn’t help it. Asking me for her with the guise of ‘assistant’. Tell me, did you speak with her about your previous assistants? Did you tell her about the bright SOULS I sent to you for harvest?”

 

She was no longer looking at Gaster. Her eyes were trained on me, and her words cut through me like knives. 

 

“When did you decide you were more interested in my daughter than me? Tell me, did you make the decision in my bed?” Her eyes flicked back to Gaster. “Did you drag yourself regretfully to my chambers each night? Tell me, in my place, were you imagining-“ 

 

“ENOUGH!”

 

Gasters loud interruption brought the calm smile back to Mother’s face. She glanced up, at the large skull that had once again formed into existence and laughed. 

 

“Truly, what do you expect to do? Murder me and run off with my child. She’s not even TWENTY Gaster. You did a good job, staving off her blood for a more appropriate age, but really. How do you think she will look at you when she’s learned all you’ve done? When she realizes you’re just some CREEP who wanted to bond with a child.” Her laughter rang through the room.

 

Gaster glanced at me. I looked at him. I don’t know what my face had shown. I don’t even know how I felt at that moment. There was so much I didn’t understand. Whatever he had seen in my face, led him to lower his arm and step away from me, his apparitions disappearing back into the void. 

 

I felt abandoned. If he had just stepped closer.. held me, defended himself, I could have brought myself to forgive him. You can’t choose your bond, it wasn’t his FAULT. But he didn’t, he stepped back and looked away from me, ashamed. 

 

I was betrayed, on both sides, and my soul felt like it was going to rip apart. Mother took a step closer. 

 

I was angry, hurt, I wanted nothing to do with either of them. I wanted to leave.

 

But she would never let me, and so I did the one thing I should have never. Ever. Done. 

 

I allowed my magic to flow, seeping into Mother’s mind. A single thought, I just needed to get a single thought through. 

 

Leave me alone. 

 

She hesitated, and for a brief second I thought it may have worked, until a searing pain shot through my soul and body, my old scars from Mother’s magic ripping back open, tearing my skin to shreds. 

 

“YOU DARE TRY AND CONTROL ME?!” The voice that pierced the air was demonic. Even the guards, who had until now remained stoic, flinched at the sound. She gestured to Gaster and a few soldiers grabbed him before he could turn and reach out to me. 

 

I laid on the floor, writhing in pain and unable to speak. Mother knelt down to me, and her voice had once again turned soft. 

 

“My child, I have given you gifts beyond reason, favor above others, and THIS is how you repay me? I have been far too lenient with you. It is my fault, I will be sure you know the level to which I have kept you safe.” I stared at her feet, at her pristine white slippers, stepping back to avoid the blood pooling around me. 

 

I blacked out. 

 

When I awoke, I was strapped to a wooden table, unable to move, with an odd looking monster poking and prodding at my semi-healed scars. 

 

I don’t know how long I was out, I don’t know how long I was there, really. There was no indicator for the passage of time, no windows or doors. It looked a bit like Gasters lab. 

 

Time was a foreign concept to me, but the monsters who came to poke and prod and cut at me, writing notes on their little scrolls and avoiding my gaze. 

 

I started to recognize a few, old cohorts from Gasters lab. They were softer with me, though still none answered me or looked me in the eyes as I begged and pleaded.

 

It was a long time before Mother came. When she did, I said nothing, my cries from the current monster stabbing something into my ankle abruptly ceasing. I stared at her as long as I could.

 

I was ashamed. Of myself. My anger towards her was forgotten. I wanted nothing more than to teeing everything. Never overstep. I had taken so much for granted, because I wanted more. My soul yearned for another. It was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t overwhelming. I would get over it in time.

 

I could have felt with it to avoid this. 

 

“My Dear child,” She cooed, and my eyes closed, the first words I had heard directed to me in ages. Her fingers stroked hair from my sticky forehead. “It has been some time. You have taken your punishment so well, and your suffering has brought so much light to our understanding of magic.” She sighed softly.

 

I was helping? I clung to that vein of hope. I opened my eyes to implore more with my eyes. I doubt I could have formed words clearly with my bruised and battered throat. 

 

“You are one of my few children who have been honored with the knowledge of this place.” She continued, “ You see how I keep you close? How our sisters always go out in pairs? Our magic fades as we separate from our sisters. This makes us close, and very strong when we are together. But alone, we fade to nothing. Have you felt yourself weakening?” 

 

I had. I nodded softly.

 

“Well, we’re going to try and remedy that.” She said, “You see, determination SOULs don’t have this issue. So, we are going to bestow upon you the greatest gift. The gift of determination.”

 

Those words, through my pain and dulled senses, filled me with a pride I couldn’t deny. 

 

I had done worse than any sister I had heard of. Sisters had been put to death 10 times over for what I’d done. And yet, she was here, to give me another gift. 

 

I could have cried. She stroked my head for awhile, before gesturing to someone outside of my view. 

 

Gaster. 

 

He looked haggard. Hunched when he walked, far from the confident stride I had known. His eyelights were dim, and his bones set in a scowl. The large gashes in his skull seemed deeper. 

 

He began to take over the duties of the other monsters, barking in that familiar odd language. When he poked and prodded, however, it was far more gentle than any before.

 

“Gaster will be taking over, as this is HIS area of expertise. He’s had plenty of practice with his previous assistants. However.” Her eyes narrowed, “I feel he will have more… incentive now to succeed.” She leaned down to the skeleton monster who froze, as did I.  She placed a gentle kiss to the top of his skull. My soul screamed, but I stayed silent, scrunching my eyes shut and looking away. 

 

It was not my place to be upset.

 

Mother stared at me for a few minites, before repeating the practice on my own sweaty head. 

 

“My Dear, I will now unlock your SOUL so Gaster can work. It will be painful, be prepared.” She turned to Gaster “You will keep your practices professional?” He nodded. 

 

She layed a hand on my chest, and a searing pain tore through my soul as the seal opened.

 

The rush was immediate, my soul jumped at the freedom, reaching out and twisting in agony as it tried to reach for Gaster. It searched for a response. 

 

But none came. 

 

My soul settled after a time, Gaster would not meet my gaze. Mother nodded happily and left Gaster to start. 

 

It was horrendous. This is one that I will under no circumstances go into detail with you, but know that ripping open a soul, and pouring in an unknown element, is difficult, dangerous, and painful. 

 

Gaster spoke to me as he worked. In a low soothing voice. At first it was whispered apologies and assurances. 

 

Then, one day when they came in, mother’s belly was bulging. She laid her hand protectively over the lump, and before opening my SOUL whispered to me that we were to have a true sister in 6months time. I didn’t understand at first, the way her eyes had glittered with sadistic joy. It wasn’t until after I left, I realized why she had been so joyful. 

 

Only boss monsters can impregnate a Mage. The only Boss monster mother cavorted with was the one currently slicing a new entry point into my SOUL. 

 

As the determination washed through me, and mingled with my magic, I felt a sudden realization. 

 

I’m sure something showed through my SOUL, because Gaster began to tell me a story. 

 

I won’t re-tell it all, because heavens knows it’s already so late. But I learned more in that one soul-searing session than I had in my entire life.

 

My peaceful village was a fallacy. Underneath was a dark history that predated everything we knew. Our magic wasn’t maintained through closeness. 

 

It was Monster Dust. 

 

Our “allies” that we kept close? Refugees from monster clans who had scorned them, were acting as fodder. When one would go missing, many would assume they left, as it was always allowed. Turns out, their dust was harvested, mixed into our soil to imbue our food with magic to maintain ourselves. 

 

This is why, monsters and Mages fought originally. Mother had formed a truce of sorts, over the years, by enacting her plan as a form of resolve. She swore off hunting monsters, to harvest them in secret… it was awful.

 

But at the same time, I could understand. She was trying to survive, she wanted her people to survive. 

 

That’s the issue, with justice. There’s some to be had on both sides, so I often can understand the conflicting views that turn simple right and wrong questions into philosophical debates. 

 

Over time, mother trapped her secrets deep under the ground, no one knew the true extent of things, but Gaster was brought in to solidify the alliance to the skeletons. His Boss status, warriors upbringing and naturally scientific nature made him the prime candidate. 

 

They were intended, though even as mother grew fond of the powerful monster, Gaster was disgusted by her tactics, but he was bound by honor. He worked with determination endlessly, trying to give her something other than the slaughter of his kin to sustain her life. 

 

That brought us to the present, with him sealing determination inside my soul, warping the bright yellow to deep amber. 

 

It was the first time he looked me in the eyes, since I had been brought here. The emotion in his eyelights was deep, and tears blurred my vision.

 

“I fear I don’t have long, my dear. I have led you to a terrible fate, I have my demons, and they have unfortunately caused you more harm than I could ever forgive myself for.” His voice was warm again, like it had once been, years ago. 

 

“Wi-“ I tried to gasp, but my screams had swollen my throat beyond words. 

 

Light purple tears dropped from his eye sockets, as he gently wiped mine away. 

 

“I am so sorry. A chain of events had been started, and I am certain I will not see you again.” He had started to unlock my binds, and my muscles screamed at the movement. He helped me to sit up, as I couldn’t on my own.

 

“Before SHE comes back, before she seals you away, I want to give you something.” He whispered, his voice rushed, worried. “I know I have no right, but I cannot let you go not knowing how much you meant to me… that my intentions were pure” I felt as if I was dreaming. Had I died? It would make sense. He was saying everything I had dreamed, and it broke me.

 

He kissed me, softly, and I felt his magic pour into my soul. Much in the same way as the determination had, though instead of mixing into my magic, it settled as a full feeling. I felt almost whole, as if I were a few pieces away from being everything. Joy and love flowed through me, as it had never before. The sensation was overwhelming. 

 

He broke away, as my body was useless after so long. 

 

“I have given you a piece of my SOUL. It is not a true bond, but I cannot justify taking a piece of you, and the pain separation will bring you. But when you reach for me, you shall always know. No matter what, my SOUL is, and always will be yours.” 

 

It registered that he kept talking of leaving, being forced away. I grimaced, gathering energy to speak, to ask…

 

A loud bang rattled the ceiling and walls. Gaster held me close one last time, and lay me gently back on the table. He found a blanket, and tucked me in as well as he could, before turning to leave. 

 

Another sound, more rattling, it was louder now, and more often. I stared at the eyelights that hesitated on me, before he slipped from the room and closed the door. 

 

I was lulled to sleep by the sound of a war.


	5. Today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. The end of the story.

I remember waking briefly to someone carrying me. I could hear crashes, shouts. Wails and war cries. I opened my eyes, but all I could see were blurs of dust and green and red. Whoever was carrying me had me slung over a shoulder, and the jostling movements sent pain wracking through my already weak body. I did not stay awake long enough to even see my savior. 

When I fully awoke, it was in a bed of soft down, with sisters around me, massaging sweet healing magic into my body. I coughed and looked around, the sisters surrounding me made no move. They simply continued with their work as i unsteadily sat up and looked around. 

I was back above ground. That much I could tell from the light bleeding through the blocked window. Otherwise, I did not recognize the small building. I did recognize the familiar, regal figure sitting in the corner, gently rubbing her swollen belly, and singing a soft lullaby. 

Mother. I lurched forward towards her, but the quick movement was too much for my underworked body, and I would have fallen if not for my sisters around me. Mother noticed me, however, and I watched as she glided over the dusty floor to me. I was wary, but hopeful. I did not know what she would do to me, if she would see the small bit of Gasters soul hiding within my amber magic. I flinched at first when she reached for me, but her touches were soft and soothing. There was a warmth in her embrace, and as she drew me close, I could feel my shoulders shudder. 

“Now, now, my child…” She cooed to me, stroking my hair, my face, “Do not cry. This is not your fault. The Font Clan has started a war. Gaster betrayed us, not only you my darling, our whole family….” She let herself drift off. “It will not last long. Many of your sisters have given themselves to protect us, gather your strength so that you may join them.” I looked up at her at these words. 

I was not a fighter, I never had been. I voiced as much, with cracking voice, my throat dry. 

“Dear, do not worry. When the time comes, the Determination flowing through your SOUL will know what to do.” She assured me, gently helping me back down to sit. She gestured for one of my sisters to grab water.

After a few hours had passed, my body was back in working order and Mother once again sealed my SOUL. She said nothing about the swell of purple residing there, but I know she saw it from the hardness that had come back to her eyes, and the protective hold she had started to maintain on her stomach. 

“Mother, what shall you have me do?” I asked quietly, bowing my head under her gaze. I did not want to incur any violence, but she simply lifted my chin with her hand, and smiled again. 

“Do not be so hesitant, darling. You have been through so much, and almost none fault of yours…” The finger lifting my chin trailed down my throat to rest at the spot right above my SOUL. “I fear that you may be unwilling to do what is needed, if certain faces should arise in the battlefield.” She was looking pointedly at me I knew she was talking about Gaster. 

I hesitated, and that was all the confirmation she needed. 

“Ohh my dear….” She sighed. “I did not want to do this, but I fear I must. Look into my mind my child.” I gasped, “Yes, i’m giving you permission. See your sisters suffering at the hands of that skeletal monster.” She dipped her head to me, and I very hesitantly placed my hand on her head. It had been so long, and I was trembling. 

As soon as my magic swirled through her mind, she directed me to a memory. 

~~I see happiness. My sisters are smiling. Monsters and Mages are dancing around each other, children are playing in the streets. Mother walks through the dirt paths surveying her splendor. All of her hard work, her dedication to her people has created a thriving paradise. 

Then a horn sounds. Another. There are pops of magic as skeletons suddenly appear… EVERYWHERE.

Confusion, shouting. Bones are summoned and thrown wantonly. But not at the Mages. No. 

They kill the monsters. 

Sisters scream. Mother gasps as her children react in horror to friends or lovers melting into dust before their very eyes. 

There is a heartbeat, two. The Skeletons are poised and the mages are all staring at their dead friends. They’re all staring at piles of dust. Then they descend. It’s a frenzy. The sight, the smell of that fresh, dusty magic. 

Sisters are crying even as they shovel in mouthfuls of their dead loved ones. Mother never told them… They don't know why they can't stop. There's screaming and crying and above it all…

A skeleton, larger than the rest steps forward. He barks in a voice that reaches through the forest, telling his brethren to see. To look at the DEMONS they had allied themselves with, and with a rallying cry, they descend upon the sisters. ~~

I pulled back with a cry. Tears were streaming down my face, and I clenched my jaw so hard I cracked a tooth. Mother was pleased by my reaction, and took my hand, leading me out of the small home. 

When I got outside, the view was deadly. We were up on the mountain, high enough to watch Mages, monsters, and humans battling below. It was surreal. I had been out for almost a week, it turns out. And in those days a call had been sent out to allies on all sides. Eventually, as all things do, the fight became less about enemies and allies. It became Monsters vs Humans. Humans on the monster side, and humans on the monster side were the ones that went first. 

Mother told me it would be ending soon. We just needed to stave off the monsters long enough for help to arrive. 

Mothers sisters were coming.

The war would be over soon. 

That’s what I told myself. In that moment, I was a child again, looking over my people. Watching them get slaughtered. But I wasn’t a child any longer. I didn’t have to watch, and as these thoughts filled my mind, the Determination in my SOUL flared. 

I was far, but it didn’t take long to leap down the mountain and into the fray, the fresh magic coursing through my body lending me strength I had never felt before. 

As I closed in on the battle, I slowed to a walk, dodging bones and fire. I pushed through bodies until I was deep in the mass, and then I stopped. 

My magic was so much stronger now. I was never a fighter, but I didn’t need to be. As determination flowed through my magic, it leaked out of me and I sought the mind of any and every monster I could find. And all at once, they stopped. Sitting ducks unable to move in the midst of a firing range. 

I was out there for hours. Eventually the screaming of everyone else’s thoughts in my mind became too much, and I could feel the strain on my magic, but it was done. 

I didn’t get to see it, but I heard when the Elders gathered to seal the Monsters away it was the most beautiful display of power before seen. 

Not all Monsters made it to the underground though. Many were left stranded topside, and they were dealt with as needed. I’m sure some were contained to continue Mother’s barbaric practices. But I was never privy to that bit of our society again, and I did not want to be. It wouldn’t help. There was nothing I could do. Besides, just as the Skeletons who rose against us, did mother not deserve justice for her people as well? 

I did not have long to ponder, however, as our numbers had declined and we had a society to rebuild. 

It took several months to form something even closely resembling our previous society. We no longer had monsters around to help us, and it was an adjustment. 

Before long, Mother was ready to give birth. Our sisters gathered around her, though she insisted to hold only my hand. It did not give me the thrill it once had to be placed in her favor. The only feeling I seemed to be capable of since the battle was dread. I couldn’t even bring myself to be happy for the sister I was about to receive. 

Everyone else, however, was ecstatic. This was seen as a new beginning. This child would be a testament to our ability to carry on. To endure. She would mark a new Era for magekind. Mother was muttering about blessings and omens, as her contractions grew close, however, it seemed to divulge more into mumbling than anything else.

Then a crying voice broke though the room. Mother was attended to immediately, the child washed and placed upon Mothers breast. She cooed at the small child. Telling her how beautiful she was, how powerful. The child would become her new legacy. 

 

Pushing through the dread I felt a new sensation. One I hadn’t ever felt for my sisters before. I was jealous. Were those not the words Mother would always use with me? Was I not her prize? Her legacy? The dark emotions burned through my SOUL, threatening to overtake me. 

Then the child was finished feeding. Mother held her close for a long while, before turning to hand the child to me. 

I was in shock. Why would this woman think to hand me a child born of the tryst that broke my heart and mutilated my SOUL. How could she think that was safe?

But the moment that small bundle was placed in my arms, the glittering look in Mothers eyes made sense. 

I loved this child. Everything in my SOUL loved and wanted to protect her. I drew her close, and the child opened their eyes. Blood red irises met mine. I should have seen it as an omen, but at that moment, I had known nothing more beautiful. 

This was Gasters child. Born of his magic, whether it be to me was a moot point. My soul wanted nothing more than to nurture this child into Oblivion. 

“Chara…” A voice whispered, it wasn't until Mothers delightful hum responded that I realized the voice was my own. 

“Chara, it suits her well.” Mother cooed, delighted at my reaction to the now flailing child. I handed her back regretfully as she started to whine in hunger. 

It was surprising how quickly my life changed after that. 

I was with Chara constantly. I was nanny at first, then the teacher. I learned from the best to transfer my knowledge as well as I could. 

Chara grew up, and from the moment she was able to walk, she was a terror. She squealed with joy when she saw others in pain. She threw tantrums often, and once words started to process, no one could tell her no. 

I tried to circumvent it, I truly did. I loved that child like no other, and even as I tried to correct her horrible behavior, Mother encouraged it. She could see no wrong in the child, and often rewarded her bad behavior with gifts and attention. She clung to the child like I had seen her cling to no other before, and soon even our daily visits with each other became weekly, unless I was attending Chara. 

I believe Chara was eight when she disappeared. Probably nine. I do not know, but I do remember searching for her for weeks. We combed through the village and surrounding forests, eventually even looking around the mountain we had sealed the monsters under years before. 

We found a small golden threaded slipper at the mouth of a small cavern in the mountainside. Charas slipper. Mother tried to slip through the small hole after her, but the barrier that had been set in place flung her back. 

She screeched and clawed at the opening. This once regal and beautiful woman was a spluttering mess. Frantic and grabbing at the very earth around the hole, as if she could dig her way through the barrier. 

I had never seen her so… Pitiful.

That was the first time I truly believed that this woman could be conquered, if one only knew what strings to pull.

In the years that passed, Mother began to cling to me, much as she did Chara, but it no longer filled me with that sense of pride. I had begun to distance myself emotionally, not allowing her soft, well worded coos to break my resolve. 

It helped, somewhat, when Gaster passed. I don’t know how it happened, but I know when. I was simply walking up the road, when a great emptiness panned in my chest. It felt for a moment, as if my entire self was being thrown through empty space… then my feet felt ground again and I fell, clutching my chest. 

In the place of that purple magic I sought out in hours of need, there was nothing. But not quite nothing. In its place was a void. I played with this new power in secret, and it helped numb the pain of my emotions. 

Mother started to Detest children. Where once she would look over the small ones in their classes, she now took to disappearing with her council. I was sent on missions to bring back young Mages in her place. I became somewhat of a vessel for her, relaying her information that she would have previously attended to herself. 

Years passed, 10, 20, 50. We had settled into an easy routine, and I was itching to get away from it all. 

Then, the barrier came down. Mother was gone for longer than I had experienced since Chara. To confer with her Sisters, I assume. When she came back, it was with a hard smile, and a mission for me. 

There was a young child who had emerged with the monsters. Mother had thought it was Chara, but it was you. Mother had suggested termination, as you were older than the Mages we would bring in, and she believed you to be beyond teaching. 

But her Sisters did not want that, at least I can assume, because I was then charged with learning about the odd monster family you had gathered. Mother wanted nothing to do with an older SOUL joining her clan again. I would be the one last and only. 

So I was sent to teach you, with very simple rules. No one may find out about the Mages, and I am not to influence your training in any way. However, you must show constant and consistent improvement, because of your training fails, or the Elders deem your power too dangerous, they will come to take us back. Magic is easier handled outside of the public eye. 

She made me promise before I left that I would come back to her. 

But if I’m going to be honest, Frisk,

I don’t like making promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t hurt meeeee
> 
> Now I can focus more on the lovely characters who don’t constantly torture each other~


	6. Just for doodle dumps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just gonna be a doodle~dump page


End file.
